Stories from Monday, January 31, 2005

One teen's tale of survival, surrounded by suicide and meth, gave Rep. John Boozman a glimpse into the problems facing many families today. Meg, (not her real name), met with Boozman face-to-face at the Merlin Foundation's children's advocacy center, known as Grandma's House in Green Forest,. when he was in town to hear from his constituents on Monday...

A charge of internet child pornography, a Class B felony, against Steven Gerard Willard, 44, of Lakewood, Wash., was dismissed during Carroll County Circuit Court action Monday in Eureka Springs, making way for federal prosecution of the case. According to Prosecutor Tony Rogers, the charge will be pursued in federal court where Willard was arraigned on Jan. ...

BERRYVILLE ---- Workers at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter here are asking the public for donations following a tragic fire that took the lives of two children of an employee of the Berryville store. A collection box is in the middle of the area behind the cash registers for Michelle Owenby, whose children, Ryleigh Jo Ray, age 2 1/2, and Carl Eugene Ray, Jr., 1 1/2, both of whom died early Monday morning in a mobile home fire in the community of Eagle Rock in Missouri...

In this day and age of contemporary gospel choruses, younger Christians may well not know about the musical tradition of hymns that have held the church in good stead since the 1800s. Times change, of course, and so does music, as culture and technology evolve and devolve, but Baby-boomers and older Christians may well miss the tradition of hymns. By the same token, younger Christians may actually enjoy some of the older songs...

Loss is part of life. We lose childhood to become an adult. We lose the independence of youth for the intimacy of marriage. Life is a process of change, and with change also comes loss ---- sometimes in little doses, sometimes in big ones. When the loss is sudden or catastrophic or seemingly premature, the effect can be crippling...

GENEVA JUNE (SMITH) ENGEL, a resident of Berryville, was born May 21, 1925, in Carroll County, a daughter of Carl D. and Clara (Carter) Smith. She died Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005, in Springdale, Ark., at the age of 79. Geneva retired from Tyson Foods in Berryville after 23 years of service. She was a cattle farmer and a member of the Grandview Baptist Church...

The basketball games with Gravette in Tiger gym Tuesday night were tight, with Coach Jim Goins' Lady Tigers pulling out a big 1AAA victory with just four seconds left for a 37-36 win. Coach Bill Niven's senior boys were knocking at the door all night, but the Lions wouldn't let them in and carried away a 57-51 win...

The only trouble the Eureka Springs Highlander basketball teams had on Tuesday night with the Decatur Bulldogs was holding the scores down. Coach Aaron Hall's senior high girls held the Lady Bulldogs to eight points in the first half and went on to take a 54-23 win. That gave them a 10-13 record, 2-4 in 1AA play...

The lead was on the line in the 1AAA Conference races on Tuesday night when the Berryville Bobcats traveled to play the Elkins Elks. Coach Matt Carter's Lady Bobcats were in first place with a previous win over the Lady Elks, but after a titanic defensive struggle Elkins got a 36-31 win to tie for the conference lead...